Ice Cream Social

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon we had a party at our house. More specifically, we had an Ice Cream Social in our backyard, and if it hadn't been for the fact that we skipped the home made ice cream and bought a case of Breyers, it would have been "An Olde Fashioned Ice Cream Social".

It was the second annual such affair, inviting everyone in the neighborhood to join us. We had a goodly crowd, plenty of ice cream to go around, and an opportunity to begin to get to know the new neighbors. (A couple of people, graciously polite, brought bottles of wine, whether for us or the guests we'll never know. Our son will be the grateful beneficiary of their largesse.)

This place has turned into quite a diverse community, more than we had expected. One of our mild apprehensions, in fact, when we moved in here, is that it would be mostly, if not entirely, older people just like ourselves, and we knew we didn't want that. What we have gotten instead is a wonderful cross section of ages and life styles, a variety of ethnic, racial and geographic backgrounds, infants in strollers, kids on bikes, young people learning to drive,...the whole shebang.



There was one interesting hitch. Interesting to us, anyway. Even though we had a nice turn-out, and several couldn't come but phoned in their "regrets", there were a whole lot of folks who, for one reason or another, just chose not to come. It turned out, as I talked to those who had come to the party, that their neighbors had asked them about it, for they "wondered what we wanted"! They had, apparently, never been invited to a social by people they didn't know, and assumed it was some sort of Tupperware party (or worse!). One family (Northern Americans) said they "never heard of such a thing", and stayed home!

Ann's theory, which makes sense, is that the people in our immediate area, those whose homes were built and moved into last year, were there again just as they were for the first social. Those who live several blocks away, farther removed from us physically, may have felt quite differently about the invitation and comfortably ignored it. Makes sense.




But all who did come had a good time, even the little ones, usually the scourge of any party, who managed to enjoy themselves with more than overdoses of ice cream. They also discovered Ann's "hidey hole", the little nook back in the farthest corner of the yard where she installed small chairs around a small table, both just the right size for grandchildren who want some privacy. In this case it wasn't grandchildren but nice neighborhood children who needed some seclusion from grown-ups who just stand around and talk. They had a grand time too, and were the last to leave.

I suspect, all things considered, we'll do it again next year. If you like, we'll put you on the invitation list.